Yu Sang Broccoli is generally good in its vegetarian version, but can also be ordered with meat. Becky describes this as a "Chinese ex-patriot" dish, and it probably came from the large Chinese population in Thailand that mixed their own recipes with the local ingredients. To me this is one of the few dishes at Singapore Café that does not taste too sweet or "Americanized;" rather it has a good balance of flavors. It is surprisingly spicy, though, considering the lack of spice found in many of the other dishes.

Soup served with lunch specials

Lunch specials come with a delicious, slightly tomato flavored soup that I think is better than the soups found at just about any Chinese restaurant in the city. The crispy noodles that come with it are excellent, and even if the choices for luncheon specials is limited the soup is always good. I am sure this is a big factor for the restaurant's popularity at lunch time.

The lunch menu comes with about six choices, and besides the soup includes lumpia. The lumpia, a small fried spring roll, has meat inside, and most of the menu items are meat dishes. Two of the lunch specials can be made vegetarian (pad thai and kao pad), but if you order it vegetarian they do not bring the lumpia unless you ask for it. I will admit to having ordered pad thai quite a few times not because I was craving it, but because I wanted the soup that comes with the lunch specials (and the lumpia is good also).

Lunch portion of pad thai

Pad Thai has been my favorite dish from the lunch menu, but I cannot say it is the best because I have not tried all the others. I do think, though, that the pad thai at Singapore Café is better than average in the universe of American Thai restaurants. This is a white to slightly brown colored dish that I was told is made with vinegar and soy sauce. The regular (non-vegetarian) version is also made with fish sauce (nam pla), and personally I think it needs the fish sauce to have the full flavor that it should. Some restaurants use tamarind sauce that turns the noodles a red color, but Becky does not (perhaps this is why I like Singapore's version better than others). Bean sprouts provide substance but not much flavor, and are traditionally included in the dish. Crushed peanuts are spread on top, and fresh limes and chiles are provided on the side for extra flavor. While many dishes at Singapore Café seem to be too sweet, the pad thai is not. Scrambled eggs are mixed in, and it is topped off with shrimp and chicken. I think the shrimp is better quality than the chicken, as I have not been impressed with the chicken at Singapore except in some of the soups and Becky's special dishes. I prefer ordering it with tofu instead of the chicken and shrimp, since Singapore serves better than average tofu.

Mi goreng

Another good vegetarian choice (but not a lunch special) is the Veggie Mi Goreng, consisting of noodles with tofu and vegetables. I think this is usually considered to be a Malaysian dish, and over the years has been one of my favorites at Singapore Café. It is not one of the dishes that taste "sweet," although it seems to have a sweet and sour contrast done in a traditional Asian way.

Several soups are served as entrées, but many of them are not as satisfying to me as at other Thai restaurants. The Tom Kha Gai (with coconut), however, has frequently been better than at many other places.

Tom yum is a spicy soup with lemongrass

Tom Yum is a spicy soup with pineapple and tomato, flavored with lemongrass. This is similar to Vietnamese style sweet and sour soup, but is rather different from the versions of tom yum I have found at other Thai restaurants. I liked the chicken version better than the one with shrimp, even though the opposite is true with most dishes.

Some of the best dishes at Singapore have been specials that are not always available including Mango Tofu that may not be great when compared to Thai food available in other cities, but is one of the more delicious and healthy dishes available in El Paso. This is an example of the food at Singapore that may not be the best that can be found anywhere, but is certainly enjoyable (or at least I have found it to be so).

Green Tea Chicken at Singapore

The Green Tea Chicken started out as a special but was added to the menu in 2005. This is a spicy dish served in a bowl on top of rice with broccoli and other vegetables. When Becky served it as a special I liked it so much I made it a point to tell her, and perhaps this was one of the reasons it was added to the menu. I still think it is probably the single best dish served at Singapore. There is also a tofu version but I think the chicken has a better flavor.